HOMEMADE ICE CREAM

Ingredients

4 egg yolks

125 ml (1/2 cup) sugar

250 ml (1 cup) milk, hot

250 ml (1 cup) 35% cream, hot

1 vanilla pod, split in half lengthwise  (you can substitute with a fruit of your choice)

Preparation

• Whisk the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture whitens. Whisk in the milk, cream, pod and vanilla seeds removed from the pod with the tip of a knife.

• Cook in a bain-marie, stirring with a wooden spoon, for about 15 minutes or until the preparation coats the back of the spoon. Remove the vanilla pod, cover and leave this custard to cool in the refrigerator.

• If using an ice cream maker, churn the mixture according to the manufacturer's instructions. Freeze (about 45 minutes).

• If you don't have an ice cream maker, pour the mixture into a large shallow dish and freeze for 2 hours. Stir and freeze again for 1 hour. Put the ice cream in the food processor and return to the freezer until ready to serve.

Variations on a theme

For our three variations, follow the same theme as the recipe above, with a few differences.

• Mango ice cream. Increase the amount of sugar to 180 ml (3/4 cup) and add 375 ml (1 1/2 cups) of fresh mango puree to the cooled custard. Process or freeze as above.

• Pineapple ice cream. Increase the amount of sugar to 180 ml (3/4 cup) and add 375 ml (1 1/2 cups) of fresh pineapple purée to the cooled custard. Process or freeze as above.

• Raspberry (or other berry) ice cream. Increase the amount of sugar to 180 ml (3/4 cup) and add 375 ml (1 1/2 cups) raspberry purée, strained through a sieve (to remove the seeds), into the cooled custard. Process or freeze as above.